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There is a really great resource for this over here:
http://www.purdue.edu/envirosoft/mercbuild/src/cleanup.htm

granted, they said, never use a vacuum.

I remember this happening SO often when I was a kid. The mercury operates much like a magnet, so we used the mercury to collect the mercury. We got down on our hands and knees and spent quite a bit of time collecting mercury.

Call the environmental safety office at your nearest University: they will tell you what to use. In my lab we are supposed to call them even for a minor mercury spill, since they have clean up kits.

the lab i used to work at used this powder substance that coats the mercury making it easier to sweep up and put in a hazards jar - we wore gloves. i would do what francesca said and call a university chemistry lab

I'd suggest to everyone that they use non-mercury thermometers so as to avoid dealing with mercury spillage. Especially if you have small kids who are likely to either break and then play with the spilt mercury.

Mercury is highly toxic. Do not touch it and never vacuum or dispose Mercury in normal trash or sewage pipes.

To pick the mercury from the floor use a sheet of paper ( it may help if you bend the sheet in a U shape). Use it to "push" and assemble all the spilled drops in one large single drop.
Then pick an empty glass jar (small mayo or jam jar will do), put the jar opening near the mercury and push the mercury inside using the sheet of paper. Close the jar lid. Trash the sheet of paper you used and wash your hands carefully.

For disposal of the "traped in the jar" mercury contact any shop in your area selling prescription drugs (pharmacy or similar) they know how to deal with it.

CHANGE THE VACUUM BAG NOW. One of the biggest risks of mercury is inhalation. Vacuuming with it in the bag seems like it can push the particles out in more of a mist.

If it were me, I wouldn't let Ursula anywhere near the running vacuum for a few months. Kids have symptoms much sooner than adults because of their low body weight.

http://www.calpoison.org/public/mercury.html

more info on mercury

Actually it's not a matter of just disposing of the vacuum bag, I'd be disposing of the vacuum itself. You should contact poison control center to find out what to do with it, because it can't just go in the trash.

Now is the time to buy an electronic thermometer.

Get a digital thermometer NOW. They are more accurate and far quicker to read. Mercury is very toxic and I would tell you to get a new vacuum as well. I have seen what mercury can do to the human body and it's not good.Zaya is right-contact poison control immediately. Good luck.

I remember our 7th grade science teacher, Mr. Norman, saying something along the lines of if mercury is introduced to a space, that space will not be contanimate-free in our lifetime.

But then Mr. Norman liked to feed bunnies to the classroom boa constrictor during tests. Wacko.

But seriously, I remember being around 10 and breaking a thermometer into a bowl just to mess with it because the movement was so cool. —Which probably explains quite a lot. But what would it do? What are the long term effects of exposure?

I work for a Dentist and we use sticky tape. Quick and easy. Hope this helps.